The Contract
by Chibi-Koibito
Summary: What if Rosette and Chrono had met differently? And Joshua had made it to the Magdalane Order before he was tempted by Aion? Things would turn out better you think, but they don't. Events take worse turns then they do in the original story. Can Rosette an


I know I need to update my other stories, and don't worry I'm working on them right now, but I wrote this for an English Short Story and my teacher loved it. (Whom I might add knows nothing of the original story.) I thought since I had most of it written any way I might as well put it up for you guys' amusement.

I wish more people knew of Chrono Crusade. I think it is such a great series. So to those of you who do know this manga/anime I hope you enjoy my first Chrono fan fiction. Arigato!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. If I did I would spend my daysdrawing Chrono for fansinstead of going to school.

Ch. 1- A Strange Meeting

In the woodland just east of a place called Seventh Bell Orphanage, nothing stirred. Birds didn't chirp and the leaves didn't fall from the trees. They dared not or they might disturb this rare peace. Even the water that fell did not drip loudly when it reached the other source of water. Nature knew something was going to happen today and it did not want to start it.

Only a lone girl in this forest ignored this feeling. Her blonde twin braids bounced up and down as she ran through the grassy floor. A frown was upon her face and her eyes full of determination. None of her thoughts concerned what the day might bring. No, her thoughts were elsewhere.

Joshua was sick again today. It was her fault and she knew it. She felt horrible about it because it wasn't as if she had fallen and been hurt on purpose forcing Joshua to heal her. Every day the boy grew worse she would blame herself more and more. There was no way she could cure his sickness. No fairness was given to anyone with his kind of gifts.

Why could he cure other people's wounds, but not able to cure his own? Rosette had often thought this to herself. The prophets all had wonderful gifts and yet they seemed more of a curse to the people with the gifts. It was an odd thing really. And as far as Rosette was concerned it was rather pointless and stupid.

To a 12-year-old girl these things seemed simple. Yet she understood now complicated it really was. Rosette had a big responsibility, and the pressure of it was about enough to make her head explode. She needed to tell someone. Someone she could trust with Joshua's secret.

Thinking of what horrible things could happen if someone from any church in the country was to find Joshua and take him away from her, Rosette ran faster through the forest not caring what peace she disturbed. Her eyes were shut and tears came streaming down her face. Rosette knew she couldn't take much more of this. She also knew that if she couldn't find a cure for Joshua soon that he would die.

Suddenly there was a charmingly sweet noise. It made Rosette stop dead in her tracks and her eyes fling open. The sound was not threatening or scary by any means. In fact it soothed her soul and made her smile. This was the sound of someone humming a happy tune.

The blonde had entered the deepest part of the forest where no animals lived and only the beauty of the forest existed. It was said that this was so because of an ancient holy tomb of a beloved holy person. Rumors were that it was even Mary Magdalene. No one ever came to this area though, for fear of a curse of disturbing the holy ground.

Rosette jumped behind a nearby bush and looked at what was before her. A large waterfall ran into a small river peacefully. Light resounded onto it and you could see that it was the purist looking water that could exist. Over seeing the water there was a large rock that posed as if it was a walkway towards the heavens. All the light from the sky seemed to almost point to that rock.

What the girl found more interesting and more amazing than all of this, was the figure that sat upon the rock and was the source of the enchanting humming. A small teenage boy sat there calmly and looked up at the sky with a smile. His purple hair stood out amongst the green of the forest. The clothing he wore was old fashioned and tattered, full with dirt and grime. But what stuck out most to Rosette were the boy's long pointy ears and his deep sad, red eyes.

Most people would have run away at the sight of someone like this in that time period. But the young girl felt the complete opposite of that. She was drawn to this young man and not only by curiosity. It was if she knew him from somewhere or as if they had been best friends since she was born. What was this feeling she had?

Something inside the small child compelled her to go out and talk to him. Maybe it was the feeling she had or something of that sort. Perhaps it was just curiosity. But the pain and sadness in his eyes was what did it she thought. Whatever the reason she felt she could talk to him.

With a strange feeling of confidence Rosette stepped out from behind the bush and began to walk towards the strange boy. As she got closer and closer she got even more comfortable with the feeling around the boy. He didn't even notice Rosette getting nearer to him. His focus was always intent on the sky, as if he expected it to fall or something.

Suddenly his eyes dilated and his head snapped towards Rosette. The girl stopped dead in her tracks from surprise. A look of anger and surprise encompassed the boy's face. This made Rosette take a step back and regret her move of courage.

"Who are you" his soft voice demanded.

The blonde was quiet for a moment and then answered with a smile"I'm Rosette Christopher. And who are you sir"

Now the boy's face turned into a look of surprise. He had not expected this kind of response. And the girl was smiling too. She was not afraid of him in the least. The way she smiled reminded him of someone he used to know.

"I am what your people call a demon." He said this with a more serious tone trying to cover up his feeling of curiosity.

"A demon? What do you mean a demon" Rosette said walking closer to the boy and now had her own feeling of curiosity.

"It means what it sounds like. I am an exile, a demon, and a sinner. Someone who has betrayed his people."

The girl stared at this "demon". To her he looked a little strange, but nothing like a demon. Demons were supposed to be evil and scary. She could tell by just talking to this boy that he was kind and gentle. He may have had a horrible past but she didn't care.

"You just can't be bad! You're too cute" Rosette said aloud with a blush and a smile.

"Doink" the demon said with a sigh and a lean backwards. But apparently this lean was to far back and he fell of the rock with a high pitched squeak of surprise, landing in the pure water with a giant splash.

Rosette gasped in surprise and ran towards the river where the boy was sitting in the water all soggy and pouting.

"Are you okay" she said trying not to laugh.

"I uh- . . ." The demon boy turned bright red and stared down at the water.

The young girl held out her hand to help him up. He stared at it questioningly then looked back up at Rosette. She smiled at this and grabbed his hand pulling him up.

"Just be glad it wasn't holy water." The girl said finally laughing.

Surprisingly this caused a smile that not many people get to see on the demon's face. It was a true smile full of happiness. Rosette thought it made him look more innocent and sweeter than he said he was.

"That's what you should always look like sir. Smiles make other people happy as well as you. That's what my younger brother Joshua says, and I think I couldn't agree more." The girl continued.

The boy stood up and smiled down at the girl and said, "The name isn't sir. It's Chrono."

She smiled back at him and responded, "Chrono then. You can call me Rose or whatever you want."

"Rosette is a beautiful name. I think I should call you by that then. It's the name your parents gave to you and was intended to be used right" Chrono said causing his smile to widen more.

The girl blushed again at this and nodded her head.

From that moment the two felt a strong bond of friendship. They didn't know what it was or why but it just was. In this bond they both felt happy with each other's company and just happier all together.

Before she knew it Rosette had already explained the situation about her brother to Chrono and he took it like it was a normal occurrence. He did seem a bit surprised about hearing about an "apostle", as he called it, but he promised to help her out with her brother in anyway that he could. Soon Chrono found himself feeling more open with the girl as well.

"So where do you live" Rosette asked as she walked along with Chrono.

"I don't have a home. The past 50 years I have been guarding a tomb. Until I woke up suddenly yesterday."

"A-a tomb? Why" the girl said feeling a shiver down her spine.

The demon stopped walking and looked to the ground. A sad expression was on his face again and even his ears pointed down. Rosette's heart sank at his expression and she patted his back gently. She hadn't meant to say anything to upset him.

"I failed to protect someone and so . . . I guard her grave for punishment of my betrayal and failure, until I am awakened and summoned to protect her again." He said this quietly and almost enough so that Rosette couldn't hear him.

"Then why are you awake? Does that mean she is alive again? Who summoned you"

"That's the thing" Chrono said starting to walk again"I don't know who awakened me. Yesterday I just remember waking up and feeling a presence I haven't felt in a long time. It felt as if the person was looking down at me through the hole in the ceiling of the tomb. It cannot be though, for her body still resides in the coffin."

"Why don't you show me where it is? Maybe I can help you figure out who it was. Then you can help me with something."

"I guess it is worth a try." The demon said with a smile as he led Rosette back towards the waterfall.

When they reached the beautiful site Chrono pointed towards a hill next to the waterfall. As Rosette looked at it closer she realized that there was a door concealed in the wall of it. Ancient writing was encrypted in it and it was made of granite colored red as if covered in blood. There was a holy and sad feeling about the door that both enticed and worried Rosette.

Chrono put one hand on the door. He closed his eyes and started to speak enough under his breath so that Rosette could not hear. Before he could say much though the girl put her right hand on the door as well. To both their surprises the door opened up automatically. Chrono did not understand. Was this girl truly who she felt like she was? Is that why there was such a special bond between them?

They both walked in the tomb together and Rosette gasped and grabbed one of Chrono's hands in awe at what she saw in this new scenery. The room only had one major feature in it. A lone grave with a stone coffin stood in the middle of the room with light shining down from a hole in the ceiling just as Chrono had described. Water was on the ground and ivy grew heavy on the walls as if they were supposed to be there. The place had a very holy feeling to it and even the light seemed to be pure and clear.

Rosette had indeed seen this before. It was like Chrono had said. Yesterday she had an interesting feeling when she was out here and had looked down this hole and seen this place. She had dreamt about this place in a dream even before yesterday. It was as if her heart was responding to it somehow. Maybe she had awoken the boy, but why her?

This made her realize she was still clutching the boy's hand and she quickly let go. She was so embarrassed at her behavior. Why was she acting like this around this boy, and this place? Something wasn't right.

"Rosette are you alright" Chrono said in a worried tone, noticing her frightened face.

She shook her head and smiled.

"I'm fine." She lied.

The two walked up to the granite coffin and looked down at the writing. Upon the lid it read plainly in English: Mary Magdalene. Underneath her name there was an engraved cross and a strange pocket watch looking thing. Rosette recognized the pocket watch from her dream and from somewhere else.

She looked up at Chrono and noticed that around his neck he wore that pocket watch. This made Rosette's heart skip a beat and she knew now that she had seen it somewhere before and used it. Somehow, although she wasn't sure why she knew this, it was linked to Chrono's soul and held in his demonic powers.

"I don't know what a contract is but, you'll die if someone doesn't make one with you, won't you" Rosette found herself saying to the boy.

His face got a look of surprise again and he looked at the girl with his suspicions rising.

"How did you know that"

Rosette stared down at the floor and put her hands to her heart. She then closed her eyes and smiled. Chrono noticed that there were tears forming in the corners of the eyes. This made him feel horrible, even though he didn't know what he had done.

"Like I said before, I don't know how I know that. I don't even know what the contract is. I just have this feeling inside that is telling me that is what you need."

The girl opened her eyes and clung to Chrono as if they were the closest of friends. This caused Chrono to turn a bright shade of red.

"Please Chrono! Please tell me what it is. I want to help you! And then maybe we can save Joshua! You said you wanted to help him in any way that you could" Rosette said this crying and clinging harder to the demon.

The young demon closed his eyes sadly and his frown came back.

"I'll tell you if you calm down and think things out clearly. Alright"

Rosette quieted down and looked up at the boy in her embrace. She was ready for an explanation. Maybe all of this would answer some questions that had been on her mind lately. And maybe it would explain the dreams and strange feelings she was having as well. All of this she knew was somehow linked to this boy.


End file.
